In 1996, The Final Nail #1: Destroying the Fur Industry circulated rapidly through the grassroots animal liberation movement. If offered the first comprehensive list of mink, fox, and lynx farms to date, revealing for the first time the exact physical location of fur farms across North America. Prior to its release, there had been five fur farm liberations. In the 2.5 years that followed, there were nearly 50.

The following year, The Final Nail #2 was released with updated info an many new farms. The ALF’s fur farm campaign continued to accelerate, with larger and morefrequent raids. Despite The Final Nail’s massive impact, and the ALF continuing to raid dozens of farms, The Final Nail remained dormant for the next 11 years.

In the summer of 2008, The Final Nail was resurrected with the release of #3. The list had been massively updated, with over 100 previously unknown farms, and over 10 years of accumulated data on liberating fur farm prisoners. Fearing another surge in fur farm raids, the fur industry moved swiftly to have copies removed form the internet anywhere it appeared. It’s circulation shifted to be largely limited to hard copy editions which were distributed person-to-person and anonymously at conferences and gatherings.

Despite its limited circulation, The Final Nail’s impact continued. Within 3 months of its release, 3 farms whose addresses were first revealed in its pages were raided and nearly 9,000 mink released. The Final Nail was back.

The updated Final Nail #4 comes 5 years later, in the summer of 2013, in what is perhaps the period of lowest activity since the ALF began it’s fur farm campaign. The past year saw only a single release (13 foxes from a farm in Elkton, Virginia).

The spirit and function of The Final Nail is needed now more than ever. In a time when the climate in the movement has shifted from offensive to defensive, from a conversation on what we’re going to do to stop them to what they’re doing to stop us, from a time of ALF actions at a rate of one every two weeks to one of movement-wide paralysis inspired by rampant fear-mongering, The Final Nail represents a return to the essence of the ALF and the warrior model: the where, the how, and purpose that transcends all obstacles and fears.

To the rebirth of The Final Nail, and swift death of the fur industry.

In 1996, The Final Nail #1: Destroying the Fur Industry circulated rapidly through the grassroots animal liberation movement. If offered the first comprehensive list of mink, fox, and lynx farms to date, revealing for the first time the exact physical location of fur farms across North America. Prior to its release, there had been five fur farm liberations. In the 2.5 years that followed, there were nearly 50.

The following year, The Final Nail #2 was released with updated info an many new farms. The ALF’s fur farm campaign continued to accelerate, with larger and morefrequent raids. Despite The Final Nail’s massive impact, and the ALF continuing to raid dozens of farms, The Final Nail remained dormant for the next 11 years.